WHAT TO DO WITH SEXUAL PREDATORS

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Violent sexual offenders evoke special horror because they leave scars far deeper and more disabling than those caused by mere robbers or muggers--and because they often prey on the youngest and most vulnerable. For those reasons, these criminals are especially deserving of strict measures to protect society. A bill now moving through the Illinois House of Representatives is exactly that.

Sponsored by Chicago Democrat Tom Dart, it would adopt a practice already employed by several states, including Washington and Kansas. Anyone convicted of violent sexual offenses who has served his sentence could be confined in a psychiatric institution if he is proved in court to remain dangerous--and kept there until a judge rules he can be safely released.

The Supreme Court is pondering the constitutionality of the Kansas law, which critics say is unconstitutional because it imposes a second punishment for the same crime and allows the state to unjustly impose civil confinement on people who have not been proven mentally ill. Ultimately, the justices may invalidate this method of dealing with sexual predators. Barring that, though, it offers a prudent and responsible approach that Illinois ought to adopt.

These offenders tend to be especially difficult to reform: Unlike drug dealers and car thieves, who tend to outgrow their felonious impulses, sexual criminals are often in the grip of exceedingly powerful perversions that do not abate with age. Recidivism is high among these convicts.

So what can society do to protect itself against rapists and child molesters? One option is simply to lock them up for life on the first offense. But that is expensive and based on the mistaken belief that none can be rehabilitated.

Civil confinement offers a better way. Judges today are forced to predict a criminal's dangerousness a decade or more before he or she will be out of prison. Under Dart's bill, they would be able to do so immediately beforehand, which should make the task much easier. Those who continue to pose a risk would remain separated from the community--but they would no longer be subject to the harsh conditions of prison, they would be guaranteed access to treatment and their cases would be reviewed annually.

We already rely on civil commitment for mentally ill people who pose a danger to themselves or others. This measure would expand that practice only modestly and, unlike existing laws, cover only individuals who have already been found guilty of serious crimes. In Kansas, some 600 sexual predators have come up for release, but only nine have been confined.

Dart's bill tries to protect the community from sexual predators without simply locking them all up and throwing away the key. It deserves prompt and receptive consideration.